Episode 357 - Halloween (2018)

Though there were many slashers such as gialos, Black Christmas, and Psycho prior to 1978’s HALLOWEEN, this was the movie that made this subgenre of horror one of the most popular. Spawning many more films, it has been pretty hit or miss in quality for most of the sequels that followed. In 2018 with the production company Blumhouse taking the lead, a follow up to the original was released on October 19 simply entitled HALLOWEEN. Rather than following the direction of the sequels, this new movie ignored all that came before and instead picks up 40 years after the plot of the original.

Present day, Laurie Strode has become a recluse. Not a day has gone by that Michael Myers has not been on her mind. Divorced and estranged from her extended family, Laurie’s daughter must balance a life between her own family and that of her eccentric mother. While Michael Myers is transferred to a new psychiatric facility, an accident occurs allowing him to escape. Now forty years later, he’s heading back to Haddonfield, Illinois to finish what he had begun.

As the last twenty-four months have shown, straight out horror has become a huge success at theaters. And many of these films have also been critically acclaimed. HALLOWEEN (2018) is no exception. Made for around $10 million USD, the film has already gone and grossed $174.5 million USD world wide. Critics, too, have given much praise to this latest movie about one of horror’s most iconic monsters. The co-hosts of Dark Discussions take a look at this new interpretation and gives their thoughts.